Coordinators

Coordinators

cAROLYN HSIEH - FOOD PANTRY OPERATIONS COORDINATOR

Carolyn, originally from Los Gatos, California, is a junior at UC Berkeley studying Nutritional Sciences with an emphasis in Dietetics. Her gender pronouns are she/her. Basic Needs is important to Carolyn because "everyone should have the right to healthy food - food is nourishment, energy, and an integral part of our identities." When she needs to affirm, motivate, or inspire herself, she listens to Us the Duo - I'm Me or watches Never give up!. Carolyn's guiding quote is "when your heart speaks, take good notes."

Hong heng - CALFRESH clinics COORDINATOR

Hong, originally from Pomona, California, is a senior at UC Berkeley studying Philosophy. Her gender pronouns are she/her. Basic Needs is important to Hong because "[she believes] that the need for shelter, food, and water are necessities, not privileges. Everyone is entitled to them, so since we live in a world that commodifies necessities, it’s up to individuals to stand up and ensure that students (and people of need) get these fundamental resources." When she needs to affirm, motivate, or inspire herself, she listens to Sublime - What I Got or watches Cute 3 Year Old Chinese Boy Performs for an Audition. Hong's guiding quote is "stay strong."

Ibrahim Ramoul - Gardens Student Coordinator

Ibrahim, originally from Madrid, Spain, is a junior at UC Berkeley studying Public Health. His gender pronouns are he/him. Basic Needs is important to Ibrahim because "we are all part of a rad community and we should make sure that everyone has access to the resources that allow them to get the best and fullest Berkeley experience; it is about equality and health; it is about success; and it is about happiness and fulfillment." When he needs to affirm, motivate, or inspire himself, he watches Warhawk Matt Scott in Nike "No Excuses" commercial.

Karina candela - VIDEO & PHOTOGRAPHY COORDINATOR

Karina, originally from Bakersfield, California, is a junior at UC Berkeley studying Media Studies. Her gender pronouns are she/her. Basic Needs is important to Karina because she "[wants] to help [her] peers feel secure at Cal. School is already stressful enough, so it’d be great to help and lessen the burden of resource deficiencies." When she needs to affirm, motivate, or inspire herself, she listens to Lorde - Green Light. Karina's guiding quote is "everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end."

Lotta meriluoto - branding coordinator

Lotta, originally from Morristown, New Jersey, is a sophomore at UC Berkeley intending to study Computer Science. Her gender pronouns are she/her. Basic Needs is important to Lotta because "we are all at Cal to get an education that will enable us to fulfill our life goals. In order to make the most of that education and ensure that everyone has equal opportunity in getting it and doesn’t have to be distracted by burdens of basics needs, everyone should have such access." When she needs to affirm, motivate, or inspire herself, she watches any Wes Anderson movie.

Maria Balcazar Tellez - global food initiative fellow/coordinator

Maria, originally from Caracas, Venezuela, is a graduate student at UC Berkeley studying at Goldman School of Public Policy. Her gender pronouns are she/her. Basic Needs is important to Maria because "no matter who is it, we need all of us to be well fed and under a safe roof—we need each of us at our best to tackle the myriad of challenges we face day to day. Students today are fundamentally the leaders of tomorrow, and personally, [she is] honored to be working towards a better tomorrow for all of us." When she needs to affirm, motivate, or inspire herself, she listens to Marta Gómez - Manos de Mujeres or watches "If I should have a daughter..." Maria's guiding quote is "vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren't always comfortable, but they're never weakness," by Brené Brown, Ph.D., LMSW.

MEGAN PRIER - Farms and Gardens coordinator

Sally Liang - finances and accounting coordinator

Sally, originally from Castro Valley, California, is a sophomore at UC Berkeley studying Economics. Her gender pronouns are she/her. Basic Needs is important to Sally because "everyone deserves good food nutrition regardless of their socioeconomic status." When she needs to affirm, motivate, or inspire herself, she listens to Monsta X - Beautiful or watches The Great Queen Seondeok. Sally's guiding quote is "eat until you sleep, sleep until you eat."

sara tsai - community programs coordinator

Sara, originally from Fremont, California, is a sophomore at UC Berkeley intending to study Business Administration and Interdisciplinary Studies. Her gender pronouns are she/her. Basic Needs is important to Sara because "without it, how can people pursue all of the things that makes life so meaningful?" When she needs to affirm, motivate, or inspire herself, she listens to John Lennon - Imagine or watches The Best Ad of 2014. Sara's guiding quote is "you miss 100% of the shots you never take."

ruben e. canedo - uc berkeley basic needs security committee chair

Ruben, originally from the border cities of Calexico & Mexicali, serves as the UC Berkeley Basic Needs Security Committee Chair. His gender pronouns are he/him/they/them. Basic Needs is important to Ruben because it "helps us care for the health & wellness of our students, in turn allowing them to thrive academically, professionally, and politically." His favorite funny YouTube video is "Tommie Proposed to Milli" and when he is looking for inspiration, his YouTube video is "Awakened Man." Ruben believes in korima, the Tarahumara philosophy of helping one another today, so we may help the future generations better.

Carolyn Hsieh - Food Pantry Operations Coordinator

Carolyn, originally from Los Gatos, California, is an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley studying Nutritional Sciences with an emphasis in Dietetics. Her favorite funny Youtube video is “Loca the Pug” and when she is looking for inspiration, her go to Youtube video is “Never give up!” Carolyn believes that everyone should have the right to healthy food; food is nourishment, food is energy, food is an integral part of our identities and everyone should have access to food that fuels them. Her favorite quote is “when your heart speaks, take good notes” and her heart has definitely been loud in all her Basic Needs Efforts.

Emily Altman - Global Food Initiative Fellow

Emily, originally from Greensboro, North Carolina, is a graduate student at UC Berkeley studying Public Health Nutrition. Her favorite funny Youtube video is "Ziggy the Traveling Piggy" and when she is looking for inspiration, her go to Youtube video is "Brene Brown's Ted Talk" on vulnerability. Her purpose in the Food Pantry reflects the idea that "Food is a fundamental human right, and everyone should have access to and be able to connect over nutritious, delicious food. Emily's efforts with Basic Needs shine light to a quote her dad always said, "Say little, do much."

Esteban Valesquez - Finance Coordinator

Esteban, originally from Oxnard, California, is an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley studying Business Administration. His favorite funny Youtube video is “Cooper Loves Ice Cream” and when he is looking for inspiration, his go to Youtube video is “How Bad Do You Want It.” Esteban’s efforts in Basic Needs stem from that fact that the communities he lived in helped him immensely and now he feels honored to help those same communities. His go to quote is “it’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting” said by Paulo Coelho.

Hafsa Khalid - Funds/Resource Development Coordinator

Hafsa, originally from Los Angeles, California, is an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley majoring in Public Health with a minor in Public Policy. Her favorite funny Youtube video is “Kevin Hart at his best!” and when she is looking for inspiration, her go to is a Ted Talk by Amy Cuddy. Hafsa’s efforts in the Basic Needs Security Committee reflect her purpose statement, “I want to change the way we look at health. Every health issue whether it is food insecurity or homelessness, is due to numerous social epidemiological factors. I want to implement a holistic approach to solving basic needs disparities, something no student or individual should have to face.” Her go to quote is “I dream of painting, and then I paint my dream” by Vincent Van Gogh.

Hajar Larbah - Community Engagement Coordinator

Hajar, originally from Irvine, California, is an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley studying Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology with an emphasis in Physiology and Metabolism. Her favorite funny Youtube video is “Batman Did It” and when she is looking for inspiration, her go to is “Charlie Chaplin's Great Dictator Speech.” Hajar’s role in the Basic Needs Security Committee reflects her purpose statement, “Food has the power to bring people together and at UC Berkeley, this is my opportunity to be a part of those efforts in creating a community that is not only food secure but basic needs secure. Her go to quote is “I’m on a rollercoaster ride that only goes up, my friend” by Ansel Elgort.

Ruben E. Canedo - UC Berkeley Basic Needs Security Committee Chair

Ruben, originally from the border cities of Calexico & Mexicali, serves as the UC Berkeley Basic Needs Security Committee Chair. His favorite funny YouTube video is "Tommie Proposed to Milli" and when he is looking for inspiration, his YouTube video is "Awakened Man." Ruben believes in korima, the Tarahumara philosophy of helping one another today, so we may help the future generations better. Basic Needs Security helps us care for the health & wellness of our students, in turn allowing them to thrive academically, professionally, and politically.

Basic Needs | basicneeds@berkeley.edu

Basic Needs Security is founded with the mission that together we will end hunger, malnourishment, and homelessness.